Durability of Adhesive Peel Joints While Stressed in Water

A simple, inexpensive, and rapid test for determining the durability of adhesive joints comprises surrounding peel joints with glass tubes containing water, stressing the peel joints at various levels, and measuring the rates of peel. Peel joints made from several commercial and experimental adhesives have been peel tested while stressed in one or more of the following environments: water at room temperature, salt fog at 36 C, and outdoors in Florida. Peel rates for most adhesive joints are nearly constant at a given stress in water, and they usually range from 0.1 to 10 cm/week for stresses of 10 to 50 per cent of the normal T-peel strengths; for a given adhesive the peel rate increases with increasing stress in the presence of water. Durabilities of adhesive peel joints stressed in water at room temperature may be correlated roughly with durabilities obtained in one year of outdoor exposure in Florida.